The present disclosure relates generally to condensate pans and condensate traps for furnace applications in HVAC&R systems.
The basic components of a furnace system include a burner; a heat exchanger; an air distribution system; and a vent pipe. In the burner, a fuel, often gas (natural or propane) or oil, is delivered and burned to generate heat. The heat exchanger is used to transfer the heat from the burning fuel to the air distribution system. The air distribution system, which generally includes a blower and ductwork, delivers the heated air to the space to be heated and returns cooler air to the furnace. The vent pipe or flue exhausts byproducts of combustion to the external environment.
In high efficiency furnaces, also commonly referred to as condensing furnaces, significant amounts of water condense from the flue gas within the heat exchanger that must be collected in a condensate pan and drained separately from the flue gas exiting by the vent pipe. Conventional condensate traps are external to the condensate pan and typically require an extra 6 to 8 inches of clearance that is not always readily available.
Furthermore, furnaces are generally manufactured so that each furnace can be installed vertically or horizontally in any one of four configurations—upflow, downflow, horizontal right or horizontal left. The furnaces are usually shipped from the factory with the condensate trap and associated drain hoses already installed for one of these configurations, so the furnace installer must ordinarily move the condensate trap to a new position if the furnace is to be installed in one of the three other configurations.
Intended advantages of the disclosed systems and/or methods satisfy one or more of these needs or provide other advantageous features. Other features and advantages will be made apparent from the present specification. The teachings disclosed extend to those embodiments that fall within the scope of the claims, regardless of whether they accomplish one or more of the aforementioned needs.